Mary on Climate

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• Public power - Profit should have no place in energy in the middle of a climate crisis.  That’s why Mary supports putting the energy sector into the public domain.

• Bus electrification - Mary supports converting all buses to 100 percent electric power (considering 75 percent of bus depots are in communities of color, this is an environmental justice issue).

• Green New Deal for New York - Considering the urgency of the climate crisis Mary will work for a 100 percent renewable transition and a Green New Deal for New York.  Any funding that is fought for should prioritize black and brown communities the most who suffer a disproportionate share of climate burdens.

• Ensure the CLPCA becomes a reality - Last year we were able to pass the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which aims to see an 85 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for NY by 2050.  To become a reality, these goals need to be aggressively fought for and constant pressure needs to remain.  Furthermore, the original bill had strong union protections and social justice language that was stripped (for example, 40 percent of all funding was to be put aside for low income communities, this was then stripped to 35 percent).  

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Mary on Housing

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• Supports the passage of a Good Cause eviction that prevents no fault evictions and expands rent control throughout the state. 

• End rent hikes caused by the major capital improvement’s loophole

• Mary wants to add taxes to luxury development such as the pied-a-terre tax so that we can earn money off these mostly vacant luxury condos.

• Wants to end the push towards privatization of NYCHA, and instead keep it fully funded and public

• Support community land trusts as a way for New Yorkers to develop long standing deep affordability and community ownership.

• Get rid of the income floor for affordable housing units to make them truly affordable for some of the most vulnerable New Yorkers

• Housing is a human right.  As such, she wants to work to see the end of homelessness by passing a New York home’s guarantee, and expand services for people without homes.

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Mary on Education

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• Universal pre-k for all

• Universal childcare for all

• Tuition free public college for all New Yorkers

• Fight the subsidies that go to charter schools, and instead invest in public schools

• Social services should increase in schools as a way to mitigate the effects of the school to prison pipeline.  We need to find ways to help struggling students, not criminalize them.

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Mary on Healthcare

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• Supports the New York health act - This would create a universal single payer health care system for all New Yorkers.

  • Healthcare should be truly universal, meaning accessible regardless of immigration status.

  • Universal healthcare means including reproductive health, vision and dental.

  • Fully fund mental health care and increase the availability of counseling and mental health care professionals available to all New Yorkers.  

  • Social services should increase in schools as a way to mitigate the effects of the school to prison pipeline.

  • Support funding home health aide services for seniors and veterans. 

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Mary on Reproductive Freedom

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• Universal Childcare and Pre-k

• Single payer health care that includes access to the full spectrum of reproductive health professionals (including doulas, midwives, physicians and nurses).

• Universal comprehensive sex education that prioritizes safety and consent.

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Mary on Transportation

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• Fully funded MTA 

• Wants to increase accessibility in the NYC transit system.

• Increase funding for bike lanes so that New Yorkers have commuting options that aren’t cars

• Wants to electrify the public buses -- this will save money in the long run, and reduce the public health risks of bus depots in low income communities

 

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Mary on the Economy

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• Tax the rich as a solution to budget gaps. Some of the progressive taxes Mary supports include: a billionaires wealth tax, ultra millionaires wealth tax, pied-a-terre tax, and instituting corporate tax reforms.  

• Supports the creation of a NY state wide public banking system that invests in the people.  If North Dakota can do it, we can too.

• Supports ending the classification of gig economy workers as independent contractors, such as California has done. 

• End the “3 people in a room” budget process - The budget is arguably the most important document to come out every year at the state level.  We need to find constitutional amendments to involve all democratic lawmakers in this process.

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Mary on Democracy

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• Term limits for all New York state assembly members and state senators - Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan was in office since 1985.  It’s time we institute term limits to encourage new and diverse people to get involved in politics.

• Campaign finance reform - Statewide races should have strong public finance programs to allow more working class candidates to run.  In NYC, the matching program is 8 to 1.  Mary would fight for a similar program on the statewide level.

• Supports Automatic Voter Registration and same day voter registration

• Supports Vote by Mail initiatives as a way to increase voter turnout.

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Mary on Criminal Justice

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• End the discriminatory cash bail

• Decriminalize all kind of poverty

• Establish safe injection sites.  We should be treating addiction like a public health crisis, not a criminal one

• Decriminalize simple drug possession

• Invest in youth programing to try to thwart the school to prison pipeline

• Invest in alternative to detention programs and other community led conflict resolution programming.

• Increase funding to the Attorney Generals office to investigate murders of civilians by police.